I'm purchasing a house in Fort Worth, Texas. What do I need to do at closing to make sure I'm getting the mineral rights? It's not specified in the contract that the seller plans to retain the mineral rights.
2007-11-07 06:55:16 · 6 answers · asked by Mrs. B 2 in Business & Finance ➔ Renting & Real Estate
The question would be whether the current owner (the seller) has the mineral rights to sell. You can't acquire rights from the seller that he/she doesn't own to begin with.
In Texas, the mineral "estate" is a separate interest in land that can be legally separated from the surface "estate". There is no "new" land in Texas, so the question is clearly one of whether the mineral estate that runs beneath your surface estate has continued to change hands with the property over the years, or whether some long-ago owner held back the mineral rights, or conveyed them to a separate owner in some prior transaction.
This is part of what a title company gets paid to determine. If you're interested in the status of mineral rights to the property you plan to purchase, you'll need to insure that the title company investigates the chain of legal ownership, to see if those rights belong to the seller. If they do, you can negotiate for the purchase of those rights, and your selling documents must make clear that you are purchasing those interests as well. If the seller does not hold the mineral estate, then the title company will be able to identify the holder of those rights, and you would have to negotiate a separate sale with that individual or organization.
If you're confused by all of these matters - get in line. This is part of the reason that a good real estate attorney is invaluable in Texas!
Good luck.
2007-11-07 07:07:58 · answer #1 · answered by NotAnyoneYouKnow 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You should ask for an amendment to the contract before closing. It may not mention mineral rights, however, because there is every possibility that the present owner does not own the mineral rights. Irregardless, this is something that should be clear BEFORE you close; don't want til you get in front of a lawyer and go, "Oh, by the way....". Get your realtor on it now. Mineral rights do not automatically revert to the original owner; they go to whichever owner is savvy enough to secure them. If the present owner of your property did not secure the mineral rights at the time he bought the property, and the seller (to him) retained the rights; then there is no way you can purchase the mineral rights from the present owner.
2007-11-07 06:59:47 · answer #2 · answered by claudiacake 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
To be truthful, the seller probably didn't have the mineral rights either, do a title search all the way back to the original owner of the property, I'll bet you find they have the mineral rights.
2007-11-07 06:59:52 · answer #3 · answered by yur1chance 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Title search is needed to see if at some point in the last 40-60 years a deed of sale or lease for the mineral rights has been done
2007-11-07 06:58:29 · answer #4 · answered by wizjp 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you reside in a state which offers you mineral rights for your land, and there's no stipulation on your acquire contract, then it is all yours. Never, and I imply not ever, signal any contract where the vendor continues any rights to the land, both floor or under. Not all states enable for the dwelling proprietor to have any mineral rights, and a few even attempt to manipulate water rights, on and under the skin. Beware of what you signal on this regard.
2016-09-05 13:05:54 · answer #5 · answered by brar 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Nope.
it is standard in all contracts that you dont get mineral rights.
It goes back to the original owner.
2007-11-07 06:58:20 · answer #6 · answered by Fuzzybutt 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋